This past Wednesday, I shared my presented my findings from the passages I chose through the in class discussion. The two passages I chose, Warning and The Big Boys, both related to the theme of social and psychological aspects of aging, but from different perspectives. Warning was from the point of view of a woman, who wanted to be able to wear the color purple and not be judged for it once she became an old woman. She wanted to challenge the stereotype of the “crazy old woman” and instead do crazy things just because she felt like it, not because her sanity was deteriorating. This passage made me think about how we see elders in two very different extremes, either very respected or pitied with disdain. The second passage challenged humans in the workplace. The author argued that everyone, no matter what age, is still human and we all have our flaws. He also pointed out that though people think that others should retire once they hit the age of 65, he felt that when he turned that age he lost purpose in his life. Doing nothing made him feel out of the loop and no longer connected to who he was, which is why he started to work again. Both of these passages made me see how society influences the way people act and think about themselves. Though it may be unconscious, it plays a big role in how people carry themselves and it affects their future, for better or for worse.

​At the end of class, Professor Lewis showed us a film that discussed how the age distribution of our population is changing from a pyramid shape to a barrel shape. Our government and economy was made for a pyramid shaped population, but now that this is changing, we all need to work together to make the country a better place for kids and the elderly, so that it is better for everyone overall. The film did not blame anyone for the problems we have, but rather offered solutions that helped all ages out. It was interesting to see how the problem seemed easily fixable, so long as people are cooperative, which is the main problem.